Jef f Buckley: ‘Grace’
LEARNING OUTCOMES
What?
How?
Why?
• Understand the main musical features of ‘Grace’.
• Know some guitar techniques and FX.
• Know some biography re. Jeff Buckley and context.
• Through listening with scores, reading information and through trying to play
the main chords used in the song on guitar.
• Through a worksheets.
• Through answering questions.
• In order to succeed in the exam.
• In order to understand guitar-playing better.
• In order to understand how pop songs work.
BIOGRAPHY
 Born 1966 in CALIFORNIA - both parents were musical.
 His father TIM BUCKLEY was known as a cult singer songwriter
but died early of a drugs overdose.
 JEFF only met his FATHER briefly and resented being compared to
him, though he did resemble him both physically and musically!
 His big break came when he sang at his dad’s tribute concert in
1991 .
 He had an amazing range as a singer and often sang in
FALSETTO.
 He was influenced by all sorts of music: CLASSICAL, FOLK, HARD
ROCK, INDIAN, etc.
 He found fame and the pressure of the music industry difficult to
cope with.
 His personality could change dramatically, as could his moods.
‘GRACE’ - the album (1994)
• Not an immediate hit - contains a variety of
tracks including a version of a classical piece by
BENJAMIN BRITTEN.
• Became a hit gradually.
• Jeff did not work quickly and really took his time
perfecting tracks.
• Style: Alternative Rock.
He drowned in a river in Memphis
(NOT through drugs or alcohol) – he simply
swam at night in a dangerous part
SO WHY IS HE IMPORTANT?
 More complex than average rock performer.
 Very talented guitarist and singer.
 He was influenced by wide range
of musical styles.
 Only completed one album GRACE
but this is recognised as a
great piece of popular music.
INSTRUMENTATION
Drum kit
Bass guitar
Guitar
Acoustic guitar
Vocals (including b-vox)
Strings (minimal contribution)
‘GRACE’ – THE SONG
 ‘Grace’ is a rock ballad. Ballads are slow love songs.
 The lyrics are unusual. Read them! They almost anticipate
Buckley’s own death.
ST YLE & PRODUCTION
 Buckley’s style is said to be ‘ECLECTIC’ - this means it covers
a wide range of styles.
 Remember his background and his father’s influence.
 Unique vocal style –FALSETTO, howling and gentle melody.
 Production is very important in popular music and Jef f
Buckley wanted to recruit a special kind of producer for the
album ‘Grace’.
 Andy Wallace was the producer.
 He mixed/produced ‘Nevermind’ by Nirvana.
 He took Jef f Buckley’s qualities and magnified them through
his talented use of production techniques.
 He & Jef f Buckley added vocal and guitar OVERDUBS
afterwards.
 Buckley was a perfectionist and it took many takes to capture
the sound he wanted (unlike Miles Davis!!!).
GUITAR TECHNIQUES & FX
 Pull offs
 Whispers
 Slides
 Strumming
 Power chords
 Flanger
 Delay
 Reverb
 EQ telephone effect (EQ = equalisation is where a
producer can cut/boost treble, middle and bass
frequencies)
STRUCTURE
4 large sections:
1) Intro-Verse 1-Pre-chorus-Chorus
2) Link-Verse 2-Pre-chorus-Chorus
3) Middle 8
4) Link-Verse 3-Outro/Coda
The link is the same as the intro and has 2
distinct parts (A & B).
The middle 8 also has two sections (A & B).
HARMONY & TONALIT Y
 Power chords (common guitar technique consisting
of root note and 5 th played together with no
3 rd /middle note).
 The VERSE & CHORUS consist of 3 chords that are
basically the same shape moved up the fret board
(Em/F, Em and Em/Eb).
 Chromatic harmony is used in the verse, as some
chords contain notes that are outside the key of E
minor.
 Drop-D tuning is used.
 Tonality is basically mostly based around E. Intro =
part A is unclear, part B is D major; Verse = E modal;
Pre-chorus = E minor; Chorus = E modal. The E
dorian mode is used.
METRE & TEMPO
12/8 time signature (metre).
64 dotted crotchet beats per minute
(bpm).
MELODY
 Notice that there are several examples of melisma in the
vocal melody (several notes per syllable).
 The chorus is built on a descending , repetitive motif followed
by a melisma (‘wait in the fire’).
 Buckley also introduces vocalisations in dif ferent places. Can
you identify an example in the score/recording?
 There are several examples of word painting in this song. This
is when the music mirrors what is in the lyrics at the time.
Where are they (‘my fading voice’; ‘love’; ‘clicking of time’)?